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Foundations
A definition of impact
Effective altruism
Moral uncertainty
Why problem selection is crucial
Future generations & their moral significance
Existential risks as a global priority
Strategy
Determine your personal fit
Career capital
How much to explore
Community & coordination
Avoiding accidental harm
How much risk to take
Impact & personal wellbeing
Read the full guide →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.

Top areas to work on
Positively shaping the development of AI
Global priorities research
Building effective altruism
Reducing the risk of catastrophic pandemics
Nuclear security
Improving institutional decision making
Extreme climate change
Other promising areas
Mitigating great power conflict
Global governance
Space governance
See all →
Go to problems hub →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.

Key categories of high-impact careers
Research in relevant areas
Government & policy
Working at effective non-profits
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Earning to give
Recommended paths
The highest-impact career paths we know about
More promising career ideas
How to apply your existing skills
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.

Create a high-impact career plan
8-week career planning course
Summary
Career plan template
Annual career check-up
Make good career decisions
Make an immediate decision
Improve your decision-making skills
See all planning resources →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.
Key ideas Understand how to have more impact with your career.
Foundations
A definition of impact
Effective altruism
Moral uncertainty
Why problem selection is crucial
Future generations & their moral significance
Existential risks as a global priority
Strategy
Determine your personal fit
Career capital
How much to explore
Community & coordination
Avoiding accidental harm
How much risk to take
Impact & personal wellbeing
Read the full guide →
Problem profiles Find out about the world's biggest and most neglected problems.
Top areas to work on
Positively shaping the development of AI
Global priorities research
Building effective altruism
Reducing the risk of catastrophic pandemics
Nuclear security
Improving institutional decision making
Extreme climate change
Other promising areas
Mitigating great power conflict
Global governance
Space governance
See all →
Go to problems hub →
Career reviews Learn about high-impact career paths.
Key categories of high-impact careers
Research in relevant areas
Government & policy
Working at effective non-profits
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Earning to give
Recommended paths
The highest-impact career paths we know about
More promising career ideas
How to apply your existing skills
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
Planning & decision making Use our tools to make concrete plans.
Create a high-impact career plan
8-week career planning course
Summary
Career plan template
Annual career check-up
Make good career decisions
Make an immediate decision
Improve your decision-making skills
See all planning resources →
Foundations
A definition of impact
Effective altruism
Moral uncertainty
Why problem selection is crucial
Future generations & their moral significance
Existential risks as a global priority
Strategy
Determine your personal fit
Career capital
How much to explore
Community & coordination
Avoiding accidental harm
How much risk to take
Impact & personal wellbeing
Read the full guide →
Top areas to work on
Positively shaping the development of AI
Global priorities research
Building effective altruism
Reducing the risk of catastrophic pandemics
Nuclear security
Improving institutional decision making
Extreme climate change
Other promising areas
Mitigating great power conflict
Global governance
Space governance
See all →
Go to problems hub →
Key categories of high-impact careers
Research in relevant areas
Government & policy
Working at effective non-profits
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Earning to give
Recommended paths
The highest-impact career paths we know about
More promising career ideas
How to apply your existing skills
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
Create a high-impact career plan
8-week career planning course
Summary
Career plan template
Annual career check-up
Make good career decisions
Make an immediate decision
Improve your decision-making skills
See all planning resources →
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Topic archive: Ability

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All18
Blog posts14
Key articles4

All content tagged "Ability"

2021

May

How much do people differ in productivity? What the evidence says.
Blog post

March

How to identify your personal strengths
Article

2020

September

Notes on good judgement and how to develop it
Blog post

2019

November

Anonymous answers: How risk-averse should talented young people be about their careers?
Blog post

August

How replaceable are the top candidates in large hiring rounds? Why the answer flips depending on the distribution of applicant ability
Blog post

2017

April

Should you wait to make a difference? (Updated)
Article

2015

June

Check with your gut, but don’t go with it (Updated)
Article

2014

October

Should you wait to make a difference? (First published)
Article
Check with your gut, but don’t go with it (First published)
Article

August

Job satisfaction research
Article

May

What we can learn about career choice from the Terman study
Blog post

2013

August

Does your personality matter in picking a career?
Blog post
Why the Myers Briggs test is not useful in picking a career
Blog post

May

Intelligence matters more than you think for career success
Blog post

April

How important is fitting in at work?
Blog post

January

Should you go into research? – part 2
Blog post

2012

December

Our research on how to find a job you love
Blog post
How to judge your chances of success
Blog post

September

How good are the best?
Blog post

July

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A popular but flawed way of understanding your personality
Blog post

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All18
Blog posts14
Key articles4

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80,000 Hours is part of the Centre for Effective Altruism, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1149828) and a registered 501(c)(3) Exempt Organization in the USA (EIN 47-1988398).

Please contact us to suggest ideas, improvements, or corrections.

We do our best to provide useful information, but how you use the information is up to you. We don’t take responsibility for any loss that results from the use of information on the site. Please consult our full legal disclaimer and privacy policy.